Devotion
by Nana
Summary: The Hime's guardian, Inu Yasha, must find his mistress in time for engagement announcement. Meanwhile, the Hime finds some unexpected company in the form of an unlikely swordsman. Sengoku AU. IK, SM. Chapter 3 up! Please R&R!
1. Hime

Devotion  
  
by  
  
Nana  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Hime  
  
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Author's Note: What happens when you throw in fatigue, a nasty bout of flu and a killer exam gone wrong? Why, the creation of a fanfic, of course!  
  
The story will probably occur in the Sengoku Jidai--sort of like a mini AU-- and guess whose story this will be??! Please Read and Review!  
  
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The girl made it safely to the crowded market place in the heart of the small town, scarcely believing her luck.  
  
There was always a first time for everything, she thought. Only, who would have believed it possible that everything she had done in the past hour was an unprecedented string of first-time events that were unlikely to happen again if she were to get caught?  
  
And get caught she will, in the end. She was sure of it.  
  
With a touch of guilt, she wondered briefly what was going on in the daimyo's palace right now.  
  
Pandemonium? Most likely.  
  
How long would the ladies leave her room alone? How long before they would begin to wonder at the silence in the Hime's quarters? And how long before they entered to find it empty?  
  
More importantly, how long before the alarm could be sounded?  
  
Well, it would serve them right, she thought grimly.  
  
Only, her impulsive action to get away from it all would damage whatever fragile bond her father had been trying to cultivate with the daimyo. This escape was a breach of confidence--a most deplorable proof of a diplomatic error.  
  
It had all the makings of a disaster waiting to happen, but at this point the girl could not possibly care less.  
  
It had been a shock today to discover that this trip--supposedly a treat, as the Hime rarely had the opportunity to travel--had served dual purposes. Apart from a chance to see this end of the country with its scenic mountains on one end and the vast expanse of the ocean on another, the Hime had been aghast when one of the ladies attending to her finally leaked out the awful news.  
  
This trip to visit the daimyo--a close friend of her father--had been nothing more than a wedding arrangement.  
  
A wedding arrangement, of all things!  
  
She was going to be given away! It was just too much!  
  
But her father had no choice, whispered her attendant in a comforting voice. After all, he was only thinking of her future when he promised her away…  
  
To add to this was the appalling, vague description of her intended. Based on what she had heard, the character of the daimyo's son was not something she found appealing.  
  
Shady, inconsistent and definitely unsavory, a cad by all accounts--a shameless womanizer!--just the mere thought of meeting such a creature was enough to make the Hime grow faint.  
  
So of course she had to do something.  
  
And so it was when the ladies left her alone to collect herself that a thought occurred to her…  
  
The windows were wide open, and there, not far from the pool of water lilies in the vast garden of the daimyo's estate, was the gate leading…outside.  
  
Outside…  
  
She had never been outside. At least, not on her own…what would it be like to be out there and be one's own mistress?  
  
At any rate, it was either that or the prospect of meeting the faceless, loathsome creature that she would be forced to marry…  
  
In the end, there was really not much choice.  
  
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Daimyo-warlord 


	2. The Guardian

Devotion

by

Nana

Chapter 2

The Guardian

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Author's Note: Woo!  Mixed reviews for the first chapter! Hehehe…! There's nothing more challenging than that! Go right ahead and review! There's nothing wrong with submitting negative reviews, but please be objective enough to point out the things you didn't like. I encourage constructive criticism because I'd like to hear your comments on how I can improve things.  That was how I learned from my mistakes in the previous chapters of my other fics, and I appreciated my reviewers for their corrections, so certainly I will appreciate all the help I can get from you guys. ^^

            So on with the story--sort of a mini AU wherein the characters live and move within the Sengoku Jidai but assuming different (or not so different?) roles. Please give this fic a chance, and do read and review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu Yasha (sob!)

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            The strange, white-haired youth moved through the shifting crowds, scowling. Perhaps it was the thunderous expression on his face and not the lightweight armor he was wearing or the heavy sword he was carrying that was making people nervous.  They gave him a wide berth as he charged past.

            She had better not let him catch her, because she was already in so much trouble as it was. And by that very definition, she had gotten him into deep trouble as well.

            He knew he was going to have difficulty finding her.  And the Hime's ladies were partly to blame for this. They had been too malleable, too easily swayed by the Hime's charm to refuse her anything.  She had never been as cloistered as he sometimes wished her upbringing could turn her out to be.  Back home, on a whim, she could persuade her nanny and ladies to accompany her to the local market for some bit of cloth or perhaps to help out with buying the weekly rations needed in the palace.  A totally unconventional way to bring up a lady of noble birth, as far as he was concerned. But then her family, although respected for generations, were not that rich to afford complete idleness in its members.

As a result, he now had in his hands a mistress who knew enough of life outside palace walls to be able to maneuver her way through a busy market, perhaps be able to swindle a merchant or two into giving in to her bargaining, and who knows?  She might be clever enough to hitch a ride to--where?

If she has money, he thought.  He doubted it, but there was really no telling what she had up her sleeves.

And where would she go?  She wouldn't know a thing about the dangers lurking in a strange town where she was virtually a stranger.

And thinking about it was enough to bring a chill down Inu Yasha's spine.  The fear that drove him now was almost as strong as the shock that accompanied his discovery that the Hime had gone missing….

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            It was the day the Hime was going to meet her betrothed for the first time. 

Of course, Inu Yasha knew his master would one day give away the hand of his only daughter in marriage.  It was only a question of time.

The only problem was, he kept the whole arrangement such a secret not even his daughter had an idea what the motive behind this sudden, "surprise" trip to the countryside was.

To make matters worse, she had learned of it from her ladies-in-waiting who, like Inu Yasha, had only heard of it the night before. The daimyo had been drinking with her father, and the servant girl attending to their cups was too young to learn discretion.  Besides, the gossip was too irresistible to hold back. The news had spread like wildfire through the servant's quarters, and from there, to the Hime's ladies. 

There had been no time to talk to her.  It was not customary--and he could never maneuver to get her alone--for him to address her in the daytime.  She was perpetually flanked by her servants.  And yet the announcement he had heard last night had prompted him to make a visit at her guest quarters anyway. As usual, the anteroom outside her chamber was filled with the ladies waiting on her.

They had told him in desultory tones that the Hime had taken the news very badly and wished to be alone for a while.  When she was ready, she would call on them to help her with the changing of her elaborate, heavy robes.   She had not called for him, and therefore, he could not be granted an audience with her.

"But Kaede-baba!" he had said, struggling to keep his tone from rising with impatience. "I am--"

"You know who you are, Inu Yasha," the Hime's nanny had told him severely, "and you shall remain in your place."

Oooh!  If he could only sock one to her face! He thought, fuming as he went away.

_You know who you are…_

Feh!  Now that he thought about it, WHO was he to the Hime exactly?

Apart from being the junior retainer-cum-guardian her father had appointed to look over her whenever she went out, and apart from knowing the Hime since they were small children, he was nothing much to her, really.

            Idiots, he thought bitterly as he scowled over the pond in the daimyo's expansive garden. Multi-colored carp came swimming up in hopeful expectation, disturbing the surface of the still waters, and Inu Yasha was lost in his thoughts.

            Like his father, Inu Yasha had entered into a life of service for the Hime's father--the local daimyo--when he was young. He had been ten years old and tending to the horses when he had first seen the Hime, then seven, stroll up with Kaede, her nanny, to look at the horses.

            From day one, the Hime had been trouble.

            She had been on best behavior when Kaede-san had been with her; Inu Yasha had let her stroke the horses' mane and let her cuddle the filly that had been born the previous winter.

            "Come, then, Hime.  You've already seen the horses.  It's time we go back lest your mother realize you have gone somewhere you shouldn't have," said the nanny with a nervous edge to her voice.

            And she had quietly gone with her.  At the last minute, though, she had turned back to Inu Yasha and had given him a mischievous wink--a portend of things to come.

            During her supposed naptime, she had gone back to the stables totally unchaperoned and had asked Inu Yasha in her unique, direct way to teach her how to ride horses.

            Inu Yasha had stared at her incredulously before saying, "I will NOT!"

            The things that went through his head just then had been unpleasant enough to guarantee a permanent place in his memories as long as he would live.  The Hime…missing!…found playing at the stables…riding lessons from Inu Yasha!  If Kaede-san would not finish him off, he was sure his father would.

            This did not seem to discourage the Hime. Rather than back down, the little Hime had given him a wide grin of utter delight and said, "Really?  You won't?"

            Apparently, it was a novelty for the Hime to encounter resistance, and she had found this charming rather than irksome of the older boy.  Rather than slaking her persistence, his flat refusal only spurred her to pester him more--a move that had exasperated and disarmed him.  Much to Inu Yasha's chagrin, she had never let go of him ever since. Perhaps the Hime had been lonely for company her age.  The mansion was too large a place for a small girl without brothers and sisters.

They could never exchange so much as a word in the presence of others (indeed, there was no reason for them to meet at all), but there would always be an unguarded moment or two every day when the Hime could slip away (a remarkable ability learned and perfected from childhood), when they could talk, and do whatever they wanted.  Or rather, she would chat about her day and he would listen, pretending to be disinterested and sulky.  Well, he had been at first.  Early on in his stay her father's house, he had learned of the Hime's persuasive charm to get what she wanted, and he had been filled with derision for such a manipulative chit.

But somehow, she was not at all like that when one got to know her better.

In time, she was able to get her riding lessons from him (under the supervision of an older retainer) with her parents' permission, but she had managed to cling on to their tenuous friendship until he had caught her father's eye as adequately skilled to serve as the Hime's personal bodyguard.

_And now, she's getting married…_

It was so difficult to understand where all the years had gone. But there was nothing they could do except to grow up.  He was now nineteen, and she sixteen, and there was no stopping the destiny that awaited a Hime…

A shout resounded in the quiet garden, and Inu Yasha broke out of his reverie to find Myouga-jichan, private secretary of his master, making a panicked beeline for him.

"I-Inu Yasha!!! Something has happened--his lordship demands your presence in the Hime's quarters at once!" 

Without another word, Inu Yasha ran.

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            As he looked back on those surreal moments that had been put to past only a few hours ago, Inu Yasha still could not believe she had the audacity to seal her fate like this.

            Without her father's arrival, the Hime's absence would have been missed for several more hours. He had gone to her chambers to explain what was inevitable, and it was only when Kaede entered the Hime's main chambers to announce his arrival that she realized the bulky mass they were mistaking as the Hime through the rough, transluscent barrier of the screens that separated the ladies and their mistress was indeed nothing more than layer after layer of her heavy outer robes, arranged carefully so as to make for an appearance of a figure lying huddled on the ground in a state of acute misery.

            Inu Yasha's master was beside himself by the time he showed up in the Hime's rooms. One look at the whole scene was enough to fill him in. The dainty, low garden wall beyond the windows told him how she got away and what direction she had started off in.

            The girl had learned to scale trees higher than that sorry excuse for a wall before she turned ten, so it was definitely no hard feat to accomplish. Only…

            _That stupid fool…!_ Inu Yasha had thought as he felt something powerful and frightening clench at his gut. Shock, relief, worry and an immeasurable amount of anger blended to make him feel light-headed.

            After he found her and brought her back (and bring her back he will), she will never be able to escape like this ever again.

"How could you have allowed this to happen?!" Was the first thing his master threw at the young man. "You were supposed to be here to keep a close eye on her!"

            Inu Yasha shot Kaede a withering look but decided not to comment.

            "You must find the Hime and bring her back safely. Goodness knows what prompted the child to do what she did!"

            Inu Yasha would have given lots to answer that one, but again, he knew it was not his place to say anything in front of his master.

            "And bring her back without telling a soul!" said his master urgently.  "The Daimyo and his household must not learn of this scandal!"

            "But sir, the arranged--"

            "The interview has been postponed.  The young master of the house has come down with an illness and cannot receive visitors.  Time is in our hands but we must hurry before something happens to the Hime! You must find her quickly, Inu Yasha! And breathe no word of this to anybody!"

            Inu Yasha swore under his breath as he weaved his way through the thick crowds, the midday sun shining down to make his head of white hair a cap of shining gold. 

            Of course, the Hime was going to get it when he found her. Yep.  She was really going to get it. This he promised.

            _Until then, you must remain safe, Hime…_

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	3. The Swordsman

**Devotion**

by

**Nana**

Chapter 3

**The Swordsman**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Waiii! I'm back with a revision! I'm sorry for taking this long to update. Anyway, I'm back now, and I hope I will get to update more often. I have decided to do some embellishments to this tale (since I believe this is the most neglected and underdeveloped of all my stories).

Hee! Based on the reviews I can see that I have confused some of you with the plot and characters. Sorry about that. I hope it will be cleared up soon.

**First posted:** 8/2/04

**Revised:** 8/18/05

**Disclaimer:** After all these years I still don't own anyone of these people!

* * *

By lunchtime, the Hime had made it as far as the crowded marketplace. Under the glaring heat of the sun and the growing, unpleasant sensations of a hungry stomach, her earlier feelings of victory and accomplishment were fast wilting away.

Of course she had not thought to bring any money with her. Even if it had occurred to her before she managed to bolt from the palace, it would have meant stealing some from her nanny, who was the only person her father had assigned to take charge of finances among the ladies of the household. Getting near Kaede-san anytime before escaping was totally out of the question.

She cast a worried glance around her. There were several food shops nearby, the smells wafting from them inviting, appetizing. She had to eat something soon. But how could she afford even a morsel of that seemingly delicious and aromatic meat on skewers that a lady had set out on grilled coals just a few feet away from her?

Swallowing hard, she forced herself to walk on.

_What to do?_

The high sense of adventure with which she had run away with was wilting under the noontime sun.

_But I can't go back! Anything but that!_

What must they be doing back in the daimyo's palace? She knew only too well that her disappearance would be discovered soon enough. Thirty minutes was already too long a time before they realized that something was amiss.

And then...

_It will have to be Inu Yasha_, she thought grimly.

Without a doubt, he would be the one to be given the task of finding her and bringing her back. It was all too ironic...what would he think?

What would he think of all this? The sudden marriage agreement? She felt like a fool to be worrying about what her servant might think of it all, but it had been lingering in her thoughts.

Did it come as a shock to him the way it did to her? Or had Inu Yasha known? Had he known way beforehand? Somehow the thought made her head ache. Of course he did not know! If he had known before they left their small castle she would have wrung it out of him before they ever got here.

She knew him that well.

And if he managed to run her down, would he bring her back to the daimyo's palace against her wishes?

The Hime paused at this question, her heart sinking. She knew that he would. How could he possibly not? He would be acting under the orders of her father. He would have no choice, just as she had no choice in the matter. Unless...

Unless she told him she didn't want to...unless she told him she preferred---

Here she mentally shook herself. Was it the hunger that was making her think this way? She was probably growing dizzy from lack of food to be thinking thus! She must be mad--no, bad!--to be thinking of running away with Inu Yasha!

As if he would...!

But how could she even think of such a thing! Oh, if only there could be a clear way of thinking things out right now!

The sound of footsteps behind her brought her back sharply to the present.

Inu Yasha...! Was he here already!

"Oy, ona, you lost?" The sound of an unfamiliar male voice.

She glanced back nervously. There were two of them, and she didn't like their looks anymore than she did the tone of voice or the way she had been addressed by the first one.

She turned her head back and began to walk away quickly. Much to her dismay, the two started off in pursuit.

"What's the matter? Can't talk?" asked the second fellow, laughing. "We're only asking if you're lost. What's the matter? Can't answer that?"

"Oy, we haven't scared you, have we? We just want to know--"

Shouts of laughter from behind, the unpleasant sounds growing nearer...

She tried not to give in to fright and run for it. She suspected that would only goad them into giving chase. This was turning into a nightmare! Where was Inu Yasha when you needed him?

At that point, she bumped into a figure coming quickly from the opposite direction. The figure went past her in a blur. A moment later, she heard a blade being drawn. Instantly, the raucous noise coming from the Hime's pursuers stopped.

"Are these men bothering you?" the figure asked her.

The Hime blinked. The newcomer was a slender youth, not much older than she was, dressed in dark blue traveling clothes underneath the armor. Long, dark brown hair was kept away from the face by a high ponytail.

The men quelled at the sight of the drawn sword. "We...were only asking her--" faltered one of the men before losing his nerve completely under the gaze of the swordsman.

A sudden twist of the sword made the two men take to their heels.

"They won't be bothering you any longer," said the youth, watching as the men receded from view before turning to face her. "Are you alright?"

The Hime nodded, staring disconcertedly at the face before her. She had never seen a boy as pretty as this one before.

"Good," said her rescuer, replacing the sword in its scabbard. "Be more careful next time."

"W-wait!" cried the Hime just as the swordsman was about to turn and walk away. "Can you help me out? I'm really lost here."

At that, the swordsman paused, brown eyes wide. Taking in again the girl's clothing (silk, no less, set in a pattern of pretty pink and white sakura petals), the youth asked, "what's your name?"

Here, the Hime hesitated. This was no ordinary person. Delicate-looking as he was, he wore armor and carried a sword. Suppose he was one of the daimyo's servants who were sent out to look for her?

"Kagome," she replied, using her first name. At least she was not lying.

The youth lifted a brow, as if indicating that he was waiting for her to complete her name. When no other answer was forthcoming, he returned, "Kawagata."

And no first name was given either.

Fair enough, thought Kagome. Aloud she said, "I'm sorry if I seem too forward, but...do you have anything to eat?"

* * *

In the end, she was asked to lunch.

That was the purpose why he was here in the market, said Kawagata, to look for something that can be cooked for the noontime meal.

After buying the vegetables, Kawagata silently headed for home with Kagome in tow.

"...And so that was how I got separated from my family and wound up all alone in your town," finished Kagome in what she hoped was a feasible explanation to her present state of being "lost".

"Won't they be looking for you?" asked Kawagata, concerned.

"Oh, I've been looking for them all morning," lied Kagome cheerily. "I'll go look for them some more after lunch."

Kagome forced herself not to look away as she met Kagawata's faint frown.

If Kawagata had other questions, they were left unasked as they finally arrived at the little hut some distance from the market. Kagome followed the youth in and heard him apologize vaguely about the state of the house.

To be sure, it looked as though nobody had been living in it for quite some time now. A fine layer of dust lay undisturbed over the shelves off to one side, and nobody had bothered to collect the ashes in the hearth. At the center of the room lay a bundle of belongings wrapped in cloth. Kawagata's presumably.

As if sensing her thoughts, Kawagata replied, "my father passed away just a few weeks ago. Since then nobody has been living here. I had to come back and see to some family matters."

"Oh. Will you be staying here tonight?" asked Kagome, careful to keep her voice casual.

_And can I stay with you while I think about my next move?_ She added silently.

Kawagata stared. "I suppose so," he said slowly. His voice seemed like that of a young boy's--consciously low with a hint of a child's universal pitch in it somewhere. "I'm only allowed a day or two, afterwards I have to go back to the castle."

"Castle?" gasped Kagome.

"I work there," said Kawagata as he took off his chest armor and started the fire. He looked up at her again searchingly, wondering at the sudden edge to her voice. One look at Kagome's bland, smiling face made him pause before he returned to his work. "But do stay, if you like. A festival's going to start in a few weeks, you know."

"Festival?" echoed Kagome. "For...for what?"

Kawagata shrugged. "My master's going to get married," he said simply, his tone carefully neutral. The tone of his voice gave no indication whether he felt any happiness or interest in the matter. "The fire's up. I'll just go outside to fetch some water and we can start the soup--"

"I--I'll go get the water," Kagome said, rising to her feet quickly. "I saw the well by the entrance."

"No, I'll--"

"I'll get it," she said firmly as she made her way to the door.

Outside, with the front door securely closed behind her, Kagome sat down abruptly at the well's edge.

_Breathe_, she thought frantically. _Breathe!  
_  
She had no reason to worry--yet. After all, she was only dining with the_ personal servant of her soon-to-be fiancé! _

She let out a shaky breath. But it did not seem like he had recognized her, and if she did not give herself away, there was a good chance she would survive having lunch with him.

She would have lunch, and then she would flee.

After a moment or two, she scooped some water from the well and headed back in.

* * *

"A disturbance?" he asked. "When?"

"Some ten or fifteen minutes ago," said the peddlar he had stopped on the road. "You just missed it."

"What did the woman look like?" he asked urgently.

"I don't know, I didn't take a clear look," the peddlar said, nervously eyeing the sword on the hip of the person before him.

Inu Yasha let out an impatient sigh. "What about her dress? What did it look like?"

The peddlar shrugged. "Pink and white, I think. She looked rich, maybe that was the reason why those men were after her. Listen, she went off with that swordsman who got her out of trouble."

"Where did they go?"

"Over there." The peddlar pointed, wincing at the force of Inu Yasha's fists on his shirt.

What was that all about? Men! Trouble! Swordsman! What the hell had she been up to?

He broke into a run, feeling the icy sweat trickle down his backside. Ten or fifteen minutes. There was a good chance he could catch up with them...!

OOF!

"Watch where you're going!" Inu Yasha growled.

"You watch where you're going!" spat the small, fat man beside the younger one he had bumped into. "Just who do you think you're addressing--"

"That's enough, Hachi," said the young man, holding up a hand to silence his companion. "We don't have enough time."

"Matte--I might as well ask you. Have you seen a girl in a pink and white silk kimono anywhere here?" Inu Yasha said.

The man turned to look at Inu Yasha with clear, violet-blue eyes. "No," he said evenly. "Have you seen a girl dressed as a boy in armor?"

"What!"

The man shook his head. "Never mind," he said as he took leave, "gomen, but we didn't see your girl either."

* * *

"This is good soup," Kagome said carefully as she looked up from her bowl.

Kawagata only nodded.

"I hope I haven't been intruding..." Kagome stopped. It did seem so forward that she would be having lunch with a boy she hardly knew, but Kawagata did not seem to mind.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Kagome's curiosity got the better of her. "So...so you work for the daimyo's son?" she asked.

Another nod from Kawagata.

"What's he like?"

Kawagata turned away, indicating that it was somehow improper for her to ask. Instead, he said, "is there really nothing else you'd like to add to your story?"

"W-what?"

"Who are you, really?" asked Kawagata, cutting straight to the point.

"What do you mean?"

Kawagata eyed her clothes, at the smooth lines of silk, and at her unlined hands. "You cannot think you can get away by saying you are not from the nobility, at least," he said.

"I have to go," said Kagome faintly. She moved away quickly, panic starting to seep in. She would be done for if Kawagata were to press the matter and detain her.

Fortunately, he did not. He merely continued to sit where he was, staring at her.

At the doorway, she paused. "Please do not think me ungrateful for lunch," she said softly. "I hope in time I shall be able to repay you for this favor."

* * *

She listened as the girl's footsteps died away. She sighed, thinking that this was probably the most confusing day of her life.

It mattered very little that the girl had obviously thought that she, Kawagata Sango, was a boy, and it did not occur to her to correct the girl's mistake. She was good at deceiving people. Hell, she had even deceived her own master for the past seven years or so, and found that masquerading as a boy had served to her advantage.

It had always been a source of wonder to her how, with his supposed knowledge of women, her master had never found out about her identity. But then, she did not want to think of that idiot right now.

When the news broke through last night, the very first thing she had thought of was flight. She did not want to be there today to see his face, or the girl he was going to marry. She found that she simply would not be able to.

So she had taken leave from the master of the household to attend to some pressing matters that had not been seen to since the death of her father.

_What if the young master asks for you?_

Then he will have Hachi by his side, she had answered. Hachi is fully capable of attending to his every need.

She shook her head. This is madness! She thought. How on earth did you ever get into this kind of mess?

Since she had shown up wearing boys' clothes to work on the daimyo's stables, a part of her thought wryly.

It had been deception from the start, but this much had been true: Sango had been trained from an early age to be a boy.

What was strange about it was nobody had really bothered to check on her background. Her father had badly wanted a boy, and for the most part of her life, she had been reared as one even when her younger brother had been born. Being a child who never had any exposure to femininity, it had not been too difficult to get away with it.

What was more, she was good at what she did. Taking care of horses, and finally, mastering the sword had come to her naturally. At certain points she was even better than the young master, if she could say so herself.

Of course, her father had been ill at ease with it. As a junior retainer who had come from a poor samurai family, he had not wanted the confusion, but it seemed that even he was powerless to stop the events as they had unfolded.

From their first meeting of Sango, people had assumed that she was a boy. Her father could only nod dumbly when they referred to her as his son. It was one of the secrets that had eaten away at him as time went on.

Father was equally powerless from stopping the young master from taking notice of the samurai's child whose age was quite close to his own. Children, regardless of their class, naturally gravitated to one another. Even as his tutors tried to strike a balance between his studies and sword practice, the young master had found a way to ensure that Kawagata's "son" would be close at hand by choosing her as one of his personal servants two years ago.

That had meant that Sango would have to be with him everywhere he went, and Father had nearly gone mad with worry.

Sango had merely laughed. "Do not worry about it, Chichu-ie," she had said. "I will be able to handle him."

And handle the young master she did, no matter how potentially dangerous or embarrassing (or infuriating) a situation might be—the night trips to teahouses, bringing him home drunk with or without Hachi, the many discreet visits to ladies and the equally numerous love letters she had to deliver for him. Somehow, through it all, she had been able to grit her teeth and keep herself under control...until recently.

She had worried over that time when the waka's friend, Takeda Kuranosuke, had come to visit him and stay for a time in the castle. There had been several hair-raising encounters that could have led to uncomfortable questions, but she was glad the waka had not indulged his friend to pursue his "game". During his stay, Kuranosuke had been too friendly, too interested in what she did, to give her a moment's rest.

After a day or two of Kuranosuke's attention—flattering to the point of being uncomfortable, it seemed clear the waka had not been too happy with it…and with her. At the very least, he must see it wasn't her fault! But after Takeda had gone, the waka had reverted to his normal self without bringing her into his confidence regarding his friend. In this one detail he had acted unusually.

The waka…her waka…

The change had been so gradual that she had not even realized it. When she finally did (and after she got over the mortification), it was already too late to do anything about it. It was easy at first to dismiss it, deny it, even laugh at it, but if she needed the final proof of its existence, it was this: she had run away on the day of his engagement to another girl.

Sango sighed unhappily as she asked herself for the hundredth time how this had happened. Hadn't she told herself time and again that the waka did not exactly possess all the admirable traits required of honorable young men; that she, born as a girl, was actually more of a gentleman in many respects than he was? All the ladies, once he was through with them, had tearfully told her so.

So it was not supposed to happen this way!

But perhaps Heaven had finally meant to put her in her proper place and punish her for the lie that she had perpetuated for most of her life, because this was how it had turned out.

That strange girl--whoever she was--had created a welcome distraction. Had she not arrived, Sango would have found herself circling these same treacherous thoughts over and over again at an earlier hour today.

Wearily, Sango allowed herself to wonder who she might be. For a young chit she had a penchant for attracting trouble in the streets. She was also pretty forward with things. No matter how she tried to hide it, though, it was pretty clear that she was running away from someone--or something. A fate worse than death, perhaps?

At that moment, Sango heard a bit of noise outside the closed door.

_So she's back_, Sango thought dully. _I really wonder what her family would say to her hiding here with an unfamiliar swordsman?_

"What's the matter now?" She heard herself say as the door slid aside. "Has your family finally tracked you down? Is that the reason why you--"

And whatever she had planned to say died on her lips when she looked up and saw who it was.

He stood there for quite some time, leaning against the door frame with the noontime sun slanting down on his dark head, and when he finally spoke, it was with his usual gentle rhythm, and entirely without heat: "So this is where you've been hiding, Kawagata Sanju--or should I say...Sango."

* * *

**Vocabulary:  
**  
Chichi-ue -- Father

Matte -- Wait!

Ona -- woman

Waka -- in general, it means "young"; a term that can be used to mean "young master"

**Additional Notes:  
**  
Women warriors abound in history, and Japanese History is no exception. I have made some research into the field of Samurai women and I found several interesting articles in the Internet. The only problem is I can't seem to be able to post it here. E-mail me if you would like them, and I'll be more than happy to send them along.


End file.
